Transit suffering in suburbs

Bus ridership stagnant or falling in Cornwall and Stratford

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Cassidy is trying to win bus riders one at a time. (Brendan Elliott/CBC)

Transit numbers in the communities around Charlottetown are suffering, and T3 Transit owner Mike Cassidy is developing a new strategy to get them on the upswing again.

Transit service was launched in Stratford and Cornwall in 2008, and ridership rose through 2010. In Cornwall, that use fell dramatically in 2012. In Stratford, early months of 2012 showed some slight improvement, but month over month comparisons have shown a drop since June.

Average daily bus riders in Stratford

2010

2011

2012

June

90

81

70

July

89

92

81

August

78

82

72

September

93

83

82

Cassidy still believes there is room for growth. He's targeting specific neighbourhoods to show potential riders how convenient the service is.

"We've done, literally, individual mail drops to suggest that if you live in this area, this is when we can pick you up, this is where we can take you, and jump on these bus stops in Charlottetown, and we can get you back," he said.

Cassidy said his marketing strategy is to win over riders one at a time.

He said there are people in both communities he calls fence-sitters, commuters who just need to be shown transit could work for them.